How can one keep the mind free from delusion at the time of death and attain rebirth in the Land of Bliss (Sukhāvatī)?

Original text of the Buddha Speaks of Amitābha Sūtra: 若有善男子、善女人，闻说阿弥陀佛，执持名号，若一日、若二日、若三日、若四日、若五日、若六日、若七日，一心不乱。其人临命终时，阿弥陀佛与诸圣众，现在其前。是人终时，心不颠倒，即得往生阿弥陀佛极乐国土。

Explanation: If there are good men and good women who hear that Amitābha Buddha resides in the Land of Bliss in the West and can receive beings for rebirth there, and if they can recite Amitābha Buddha's name continuously for one day, or two days, or three days, or four days, or five days, or six days, or seven days—reciting the Buddha's name without interruption throughout such a period of time, with single-minded concentration without confusion—then at the time of this person's approaching death, Amitābha Buddha together with the great bodhisattvas and arhats and other noble assemblies of the Land of Bliss will appear before this person. If, at the very moment of death, this person's mind is not inverted and confused, he will immediately follow Amitābha Buddha and the noble assemblies to be reborn in the Land of Bliss.

The first sentence: (reciting the Buddha's name for seven days) with single-minded concentration without confusion, at the time of this person's approaching death, Amitābha Buddha and the noble assemblies appear before him. The latter sentence: at the time of this person's death, if his mind is not inverted and confused, he will immediately attain rebirth in Amitābha Buddha's Land of Bliss. These two sentences differ in meaning. The first sentence only indicates that at the time of approaching death, the Buddha and the noble assemblies appear before the person reciting the Buddha's name, but it does not mean that this person will definitely attain rebirth, because the latter sentence contains an additional condition for rebirth: the mind must not be inverted and confused. The latter sentence supplements the former, indicating that only when the mind is not inverted and confused at the time of approaching death can one attain rebirth. The first sentence indicates that Amitābha Buddha and the noble assemblies come before the person reciting the Buddha's name in preparation to receive him, but have not yet taken him away; the latter sentence indicates that this person is taken away only when his mind is not inverted and confused. If the mind becomes inverted and confused, he will not be taken away.

Even though Amitābha Buddha and the noble assemblies appear before this person, if at the time of approaching death his mind becomes inverted and scattered, the result will be that he does not attain rebirth. Even if one reaches the state of single-minded concentration without confusion in daily recitation practice, this still cannot guarantee rebirth at the time of death. If karmic obstructions manifest and the mind becomes scattered and confused, one is no longer in accord with Amitābha Buddha and the Land of Bliss, and thus cannot go to the Land of Bliss. Therefore, rebirth in the Land of Bliss is not something one can accomplish simply by wanting to go. Besides requiring immense merit, one must also eliminate karmic obstructions, and must have a pure great vow, so that the power of the vow exceeds the power of karma. One must also have a deep mind and a most sincere mind.

Single-minded concentration without confusion is not the same as the mind not being inverted and confused. Foreknowledge of one's time of death does not necessarily guarantee rebirth, and even when Amitābha Buddha comes to receive one, he does not necessarily take one away. The fundamental determinant of whether rebirth occurs is whether the mind of the person preparing for rebirth is inverted and confused at the time of approaching death. The very last thought at the moment of death is extremely important. Although one may have achieved single-minded concentration without confusion, with a mind not inverted, before that final thought, if the last thought is not maintained, then there is nothing to be done. It is this very last thought that determines the destination of the next life. As the saying goes, train the troops for a thousand days, use them for a single moment—the test of birth and death lies in the very last thought. If one has not previously recited the Buddha's name to the point of single-minded concentration without confusion, the last thought will almost inevitably be inverted and involuntary, and karmic power will take charge. But if at that time the power of the vow exceeds the power of karma, the situation will be different, and the power of the vow will draw the mind toward the next life.

Single-minded concentration without confusion is primarily samādhi, with a small amount of wisdom; the mind not being inverted and confused is primarily wisdom, with a small amount of samādhi. Only with both samādhi and wisdom complete—neither dispensable—can one attain rebirth. To have the wisdom of a mind that is not inverted and confused, how should one cultivate? That practitioners of Pure Land find rebirth difficult is not merely because the practice is hard to master; the main reason is insufficient wisdom. What wisdom is insufficient? It is the wisdom regarding the suffering of the world that is insufficient. Therefore, karmic obstructions have not been eliminated in daily life, and only at the time of approaching death does the mind become inverted and confused. If in daily life one can cultivate the Noble Truth of Suffering, know the suffering of the Sahā world, not crave the world of the five aggregates, and be able to sincerely make the vow for rebirth, letting go of all entanglements, then after attaining single-minded concentration without confusion, one can have hope of rebirth.

Even after attaining single-minded concentration without confusion, the mind can still become inverted and confused. What kind of mental state is inversion and confusion? What kind of mental state is non-inversion? When Amitābha Buddha appears before one to receive one, or at the time of approaching death, one should single-mindedly recollect Amitābha Buddha, single-mindedly recollect the Land of Bliss, recollecting the Buddha's merits and his adorned marks. Only thus can one be in accord with Amitābha Buddha and the Land of Bliss. This is non-inversion.

If at this moment one suddenly starts thinking of family members and relatives, thinking of the five desires and six sense objects, thinking of the good things of the Sahā world, with even the slightest bit of attachment and reluctance to let go in the mind, then one is no longer single-minded with Amitābha Buddha—one has become of two or three minds. This is inversion and confusion. Some people, at the time of approaching death, think: "I am a bodhisattva, and a bodhisattva should be liberating sentient beings at every moment. Now I am about to go to the Land of Bliss—this is precisely a good opportunity to liberate sentient beings. I must let the assembly see well the magnificent manner of my rebirth, in order to increase their confidence in attaining rebirth." The moment one thinks like this, the mind becomes scattered, no longer single-minded without confusion; the mind has become inverted and confused, and rebirth becomes impossible.

To attain rebirth, one must make sufficient effort in daily practice and must understand the principles—understand the principle that the world of the five aggregates is suffering, empty, impermanent, and without self. After understanding these principles, one eliminates karmic obstructions, knows one's own suffering as well as the suffering of sentient beings, and wishes both to liberate oneself from suffering and to liberate sentient beings from suffering. Only thus can a sincere and most earnest mind arise, and only thus can the bodhisattva's pure great vow be brought forth, in accord with Amitābha Buddha and the noble assemblies, in accord with the Land of Bliss. Only then can the mind be free from inversion and confusion at the time of approaching death, and thereby attain rebirth in the Land of Bliss.